analysing the traveller activities network for strategic design: a case study of baltimore, md

ENTER 2014 Research Track Slide Number 1

Analysing the Traveller Activities Network for Strategic Design: A Case Study of Baltimore, MD

Jason L. Stienmetz Daniel R. Fesenmaier

National Laboratory of Tourism & eCommerce School of Tourism and Hospitality

Management Temple University, Philadelphia, USA


Towards More Competitive Destinations• “Traveling the Network” has led to disintermediation

which threatens destination competitiveness• DMOs take new role as network managers with the

responsibility of designing the collaboration and cooperative efforts of the individual stakeholders that comprise a destination (Meriläinen & Lemmetyinen, 2011; Wang & Fesenmaier, 2007; Wang & Xiang, 2007; Zach & Gretzel, 2011)

• In particular, it is crucial for strategic network managers to recognize the patterns of traveler activities within a destination and how those activity patterns are translated into value (Shih, 2006; Woodside & Dubelaar, 2002; Zach & Gretzel, 2011).


Shifting the Paradigm of Destination Value Creation


The Destination Value System


Structure of a Destination Network

Each tourism destination can be operationalized as a network

– Nodes are destination touch points (supply side)

– Ties are resource exchanges

• Visitors (demand side)

Co-creators of Destination Value


Three Key Network Metrics


Case Study - Baltimore• Goal is to understand the structure and

relationships within the traveler activities network

• Data collection – online survey– 53,697 email contacts collected

between Jan 2007 and July 2013– 2,855 responses (5.4 % response

rate)– Sub-sample of 1,329 visitors

• Respondents were asked which of the 43 destination attractions they visited


Baltimore ActivitiesAttraction/Activity Frequency % planned % first visit Attraction/Activity Frequency % planned % first visit

A01: Basilica of the Assumption 6.9% 50.0% 75.6% A23: National Great Blacks In Wax Museum 2.4% 69.0% 41.4%

A02: Edgar Allan Poe Gravesite 7.3% 60.9% 70.1% A24: Port Discovery Children’s Museum 2.7% 68.8% 62.5%

A03: Ft. McHenry National Monument 24.8% 72.6% 70.6% A25: Museum of African American History 2.3% 46.4% 71.4%

A04: Frederick Douglas – Isaac Myers 3.1% 35.1% 75.7% A26: The Walters Art Museum 6.0% 64.8% 57.7%

A05: Maryland Science Centre 9.7% 61.2% 56.9% A27: Baltimore (First Mariner) Arena 3.4% 61.0% 51.2%

A06: Maryland Zoo 5.4% 75.0% 64.1% A28: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 1.1% 61.5% 38.5%

A07: National Aquarium 34.2% 79.9% 53.2% A29: Bromo Seltzer Tower 1.6% 31.6% 78.9%

A08: Orioles/Camden Yards 28.3% 79.1% 46.0% A30: CenterStage 1.7% 13.6% 9.5%

A09: Sports Legends at Camden Yards 8.8% 57.1% 61.0% A31: Everyman Theater 0.5% 71.4% 64.7%

A10: Star-Spangled Banner Flag House 6.5% 41.0% 79.5% A32: Harborplace 38.1% 64.2% 42.8%

A11: USS Constellation/Historic Ships 20.5% 51.8% 61.6% A33: Hippodrome Theater 1.5% 44.4% 72.2%

A12: Washington Monument 13.0% 49.7% 55.5% A34: Power Plant Live 11.8% 41.8% 51.1%

A13: Top of the World Observation Level 8.5% 51.0% 68.6% A35: The Gallery Shopping Center 19.2% 43.2% 51.1%

A14: American Visionary Art Museum 7.1% 52.9% 68.2% A36: The Lyric 0.9% 54.5% 54.5%

A15: B&O Railroad Museum 5.7% 73.5% 51.5% A37: Fell’s Point Walking Tour 8.1% 38.1% 70.1%

A16: Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum 5.5% 66.7% 65.2% A38: Heritage Walk Tour 2.7% 40.6% 68.8%

A17: Baltimore Museum of Art 6.1% 57.5% 60.3% A39: Mount Vernon Walking Tour 2.8% 54.5% 60.6%

A18: Baltimore Museum of Industry 2.0% 54.2% 83.3% A40: Spirit Cruises/Seadog 5.0% 55.0% 61.7%

A19: Civil War Museum 3.0% 33.3% 75.0% A41: The Original Fell’s Point Ghost Tour 1.5% 61.1% 72.2%

A20: Geppi’s Entertainment Museum 1.9% 43.5% 69.6% A42: Urban Pirates 1.3% 62.5% 75.0%

A21: Jewish Museum of Maryland 0.8% 66.7% 66.7% A43: Watermark Cruises 4.4% 48.1% 69.2%

A22: Maryland Historical Society 1.9% 47.8% 65.2%


Quantifying the Network

A B C D EA 1 0 1 1 0

A B C D E --> B 0 0 0 0 01 0 1 1 0 C 1 0 1 1 0

D 1 0 1 1 0E 0 0 0 0 0

Individual Matrix for Respondent X

Respondent X

Network Analysis Tools used: UCINET, Gephi, tnet for R


Summary Statistics

Key MetricsNumber of Nodes 43

Density .925

Most Central Nodes Haborplace

Least Central Nodes Everyman Theater

Highest Betweenness National Aquarium

Average Path Length 3.45

Number of Triads 4,084/12,341 (33%)

Most Popular Triad Fort McHenry + National Aquarium + Harborplace

Number of Clusters 8



Density .925








Summary Statistics


Attraction/Activity Wt. Degree

Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A02: Edgar Allan Poe Gravesite 548 0 0.9724

A03: Fort McHenry National Monument

1411 46 0.9722

A10: Star-Spangled Banner Flag House

533 0 0.9730

A19: Civil War Museum 250 0 0.9901

A43: Watermark Cruises 302 0 0.9766

Cluster 1


Cluster 2


Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A06: Maryland Zoo 397 0 0.9688

A14: American Visionary Art Museum

461 0 0.9721

A17: Baltimore Museum of Art 431 0 0.9647

A22: Maryland Historical Society

204 0 0.9755

A28: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

81 0 0.9761


Cluster 3


Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A05: Maryland Science Center 718 0 0.9695

A07: National Aquarium 1780 298.5 0.9688

A13: Top of the World Observation Level

670 0 0.9717

A24: Port Discovery Children’s Museum

190 0 0.9727

A34: Power Plant Live 862 0 0.9687

A42: Urban Pirates 96 0 0.9744


Cluster 4


Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A08: Orioles/Camden Yards 1417 162.5 0.9675

A09: Sports Legends at Camden Yards

648 0 0.9737

A16: Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum

461 0 0.9759

A20: Geppi’s Entertainment Museum

155 0 0.9819


Cluster 5


Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A01: Basilica of the Assumption 475 0 0.9722

A11: USS Constellation/Historic Ships

1289 3 0.9751

A37: Fell’s Point Walking Tour 555 0 0.9707

A39: Mount Vernon Walking Tour

229 0 0.9779


Cluster 6


Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A12: Washington Monument 839 6 0.9691

A15: B&O Railroad Museum 434 0 0.9672

A18: Baltimore Museum of Industry

193 0 0.9756

A26: The Walters Art Museum 434 35 0.9718

A29: Bromo Seltzer Tower 158 0 0.9851

A33: Hippodrome Theater 117 0 0.9645

A36: The Lyric 82 0 0.9631


Cluster 7


Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A27: Baltimore (First Mariner) Arena

249 0 0.9683

A30: CenterStage 130 0 0.9665

A31: Everyman Theater 44 0 0.9692

A38: Heritage Walk Tour 266 0 0.9638

A41: The Original Fell’s Point Ghost Tour

131 0 0.9640


Cluster 8


Wt. Betw.

Wt. Cluster Coeff.

A04: Frederick Douglas – Isaac Myers

239 0 0.9781

A21: Jewish Museum of Maryland

48 0 0.9983

A23: National Great Blacks In Wax Museum

144 0 0.9882

A25: Museum African American History

231 0 0.9549

A32: Harborplace 1864 396 0.9695

A35: The Gallery Shopping Center

1098 0 0.9709

A40: Spirit Cruises/Seadog 342 0 0.9681


Conclusions• Deconstruction of the networks can inform the DMO of potential

gains that can be made through strategic destination design, including the formation of new, innovative, and strategic collaborations

• Metrics and visualizations are very useful in identifying patterns in visitor movement, key stakeholders, clusters of stakeholders, and also where key relationships are missing

• Future research will utilize “Big Data” to develop other metrics and to describe structure of value creation in real time


Thank You

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